Agricultural Labor Force Survey- Brant, Elgin, Middlesex, Norfolk & Oxford CDs: Service Providers
Exit this survey
 

1. Agri-service Labor Force Survey: Brant, Elgin, Middlesex, Norfolk & Oxford Counties

 
This survey is for agricultural & related service providers (firms/companies that offer various services to the agricultural sector). The survey should be completed by somebody in responsible position such as an area manager, human resource manager, production/service manager or somebody who is directly involved in the day to day operations of the company. All information is strictly confidential and we thank you for participating.

1. Please indicate where your business is located.

2. Please indicate your Business Industry Classification (North American Industry Classification System-NAICS) and years of operation:

3. How would you categorize your company?

4. What are your company's primary and secondary services/products? Please list the products below:

5. Please indicate the location and marketing/distribution channels for your primary Services/products:

 CountyProvinceCanadaInternational
Farmers
Distributors/Wholesalers
Retailers
Other Companies
International (Exports)

6. What markets do you consider to be of strategic importance to your products/services? Please explain why:

7. Are there any potential markets for your services/products which the company has not yet exploited or ventured into?

8. Do you have any expansion plans for your Services/products in the next 1-5 years?

9. How important are the business opportunities and issues listed below to your company as current opportunities and/or challenges. Please, rank them in order of importance (1, 2, 3…1=most important.)

10. Number of all employees in the company

11. Please indicate the number of employees for each category and their corresponding age group: (under 24), (25-34), (35-44), (45-54), (55-64), (65-74) & (over 75 years) of full and part time workers for occupations that apply to your company's operations:
(e.g. Packers 4 (under 24), 6 (25-34), Supervisors 1 (34-44),...)

12. Please indicate entry level hourly wage for the following occupations that apply to your operation(s), if you outsource any of the services please indicated the rate of pay per hour (e.g. Packers $17/hr, Environmental Technician $25/hr (outsourced),...)

13. What are some of the emerging occupations in your company/industry? Please explain why you think these occupations are emerging.

14. Do you have any positions that you have not been able to fill in the last 12 months?

15. What are some of the problems or barriers you face in recruiting skilled and unskilled labour?

16. What are the top 3 methods you use for recruiting/hiring new employees? Please list and rank them in order of effectiveness (method 1= most effective)

17. How many full time employees do you plan to hire in the next 2 years and in which area of your operation (e.g. production, computing, management, marketing ...)?

18. What type of skills do you think your employees need training most?

19. What are some of the barriers and problems your employees face in accessing training? (please check where applicable - multiple answers allowed)

20. Please indicate your major sources of training (e.g 2-3 most used sources):

21. Has your company accessed or benefited from any training programs offered in the community/county (training programs offered by community organizations)?

22. Do you offer any apprenticeship programs?

23. Does your company have a succession plan (a plan to replace retirees)?

24. Please indicate the number of employees retiring, their occupations and average age (e.g. Managers (2)-average age(65), Packers(4)- Average Age(70)....):

25. Do you have problems with employee turnover?

26. What are some of the reasons why employees leave the company (please list 2-3 most common reasons)?

27. What steps have you taken to retain (keep) old and/or attract new employees?

28. Indicate whether your company’s working atmosphere is characterized by the following conditions (please check all that apply):

29. Are some of these adverse working conditions affecting your efforts to recruit/hire and or retain employees?

30. What government regulations have a negative effect on your business? Please list at least 1-2 regulations that have a negative impact on your operations and explain why:

31. What government regulations have interfered with or have a negative impact on your recruitment and retention of your labour-force? Please list regulations and explain why:

32. Please list the most important business issues, concerns and problems your company is facing and explain why:

33. Please list your company’s most important labor force issues, concerns and problems and explain why:

34. To better understand your community's labor force dynamics, what type of information would you benefit from most?

35. Any additional comments?